Koch letter to city council on C-Mart hearing

In a letter to the city council, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch calls "insulting and disingenuous" some of the comments made by supporters of the proposed C-Mart grocery story in a hearing on March 25.

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

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Posted Apr. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 3, 2013 at 3:15 AM

Posted Apr. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 3, 2013 at 3:15 AM

QUINCY

» Social News

In a letter to the city council, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch calls "insulting and disingenuous" some of the comments made by supporters of the proposed C-Mart grocery story in a hearing on March 25.

I feel compelled to share for the record my deep offense to the insulting and disingenuous attacks directed at our great City and her citizens by representatives of the C-Mart supermarket company relative to its proposal to build a facility in Norfolk Downs.

Specifically, I wish to express my strongest possible personal condemnation of prepared statements made during the most recent public hearing of the Special Permit Granting Authority as part of its deliberation on the C-Mart proposal. These orchestrated statements, implying that racism is the true root of neighborhood opposition to the project, are grossly unfair, dishonest, and an affront to each and every resident of our community.

The City of Quincy is far too proud and its long history as a city of immigrants far too great to brush aside such defamatory statements.

These allegations do not deserve the respect of a point-by-point response, but I will state that the true nature of Quincy and its people is open for all to see in the great diversity in our business districts, our schools, and our neighborhoods. Anyone who suggests Quincy is somehow not open to diverse, multi-cultural business development is egregiously misinformed, has not spent any time in our City, or is purposely distorting the truth.

These inflammatory statements read into the public record in some cases by people who are not Quincy residents can only be viewed as a highly orchestrated campaign of intimidation devised to potentially whitewash the more tangible concerns of traffic and public safety relative to the C-Mart proposal.

As you know, I have lived my entire life a few blocks away from the proposed C-Mart site and can attest first-hand to the traffic issues in this corridor that have existed for decades. While existing conditions are being addressed through new infrastructure investment, serious questions about the functionality of this area must be answered by any development proposal. These are issues at the core of this proposal and should not be cast aside by baseless accusations.

No member of the Special Permit Granting Authority should feel coerced into their vote based on scurrilous accusations of racism, and I have full faith and confidence that under your leadership the Authority will rightfully continue to focus its deliberations and vote strictly on the merits of the proposal and the legitimate viewpoints raised by both neighbors and professionals.

Thank you for accepting this letter as part of the record, and for your continued hard work on behalf of all Quincy residents.